Waging War with LionsYou will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. Psalm 91:13

Posts tagged “Calling”

There is one thing that is necessary for someone to truly understand me, I’m a dreamer and an idealist. I believe in striving for the best, even if it might not be obtainable. I believe virtues are more than abstract morals but actually tangible qualities of living. I’ve been told to come down to reality, to see things for how they are and to accept them and move on, many times in my life. I don’t think that’s totally right though. I think there is more to the world than what we can see and that you should accept the fact of how things are, but not accept that it has to stay that way.The idea that I should bring my expectations and beliefs down to reality is impossible for me to fully comprehend. It may sound narcissistic but I believe it should be the other way around. Who decided that “X” has to be just “X” or that there is no such thing as “Y”?

Everything that is, once wasn’t. At one point there was no universe, Earth, cities, art, or people. They were fiction. They were imagination. They didn’t exist, until one by one they were made. An all-wise God had a plan and he brought it into reality. He decided to make a universe, our planet and us.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…. God created man in his own image” – Genesis 1:1, 27

He made us in his image. His image gave us the tools and traits of a creator and so like our Maker, we created things. We built cities and made art and thought of ideas. The first act of creation allowed us to build on it and continue to build upon each subsequent act of creation.

One day some group of people came up with the idea to harvest fruit. We realized it was good. Then later those groups built on that and thought to farm it. We did that and had lots of it. Then some other group entirely came up with the idea that maybe we don’t want to be ill. Then someone took that and said maybe we can stop ourselves from becoming ill. Then someone thought to take those plants we farmed and made medicine from them and eventually stopped people from being ill.At the beginning medicine was entirely unthought of, but by each step of creation they came to a point where it was able to be made tangible. By never being satisfied with the current status quo they made progress step by step. We are where we are because individuals refused to confine themselves to reality. What if more of us were willing to embrace that concept?

Look at a blank canvas. It requires imagination and motivated intent to fill it with something, to make it something else or create something new. Reality is a canvas. When we say “that’s just the way it is” or “this is all there is” we are saying that the canvas can only be blank, that it can’t be changed and that it can’t be made into something new. The fact is, that just isn’t true. We aren’t limited by our reality, reality is limited by us and our willingness to stretch our minds and dare to think of new things. It’sscary but someone must always take that first step and speak out.

Switchfoot really gets this idea well. In their song, “The War Inside”, they have these lyrics:

“Yeah, every thought or deed

Yeah, every tree or seed

The big things come from the little dreams

Every world is made by make believe”

And in their song “The World You Want”

“Is this the world you want?

Is this the world you want?

You’re making it

Every day you’re alive…

….You start to look like what you believe

You float through time like a stream

If the waters of time are made up by you and I

If you change the world for you, you change it for me”

What then? Well I’d repeat the words of Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.” You in many different ways have the ability to change your world, internally and externally. When you are stuck in unfavorable circumstances that can’t be changed at the moment, you can still change how you respond. That’s probably the most important component, only you get to choose that. In this internal way, you create how you view the world and free yourself to change the world instead of the world changing you.

Which if there is a more hopeful idea, I’ve yet to hear it. Whatever life is to you right now. You are free to change it, to improve on it. To make it something beautiful and to put your own unique touch on it. Seriously what sentence is more freeing than this? Your reality is subject to you. That doesn’t mean it’s easy or that reality changes willingly. But it means that there is a choice to be made and steps to be taken.

Here’s the thing though. Too often, society buys into the state of reality. We love the status quo. It’s safe, it’s easy and it’s boring. We look at those who hold to their imagination, ideals and dreams as modern day Don Quixotes, wayward, well-meaning fools. And when they fall short, or their dreams are smashed, we laugh and say, “Welcome to the real world!”. Truth is we do that because we are afraid. We are afraid for them to succeed, afraid for them to challenge our beliefs, our ways of life. We laugh in fearful ignorance.

But when they succeed. And we are where we are today, because many have succeeded, the whole world stops laughing.And maybe they embrace it, or maybe they fight it. But once you release change into the world, there’s no going back.

I guess this is that Matrix moment. You’ve been given the choice, now you got to choose. Ignore your ability to change the world or embrace it and open your eyes to the horizon. It’s up to you. Your decision.

Luke

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”– Robert Fulghum

“I believe in the power of the imagination to remake the world, to release the truth within us, to hold back the night, to transcend death, to charm motorways, to ingratiate ourselves with birds, to enlist the confidences of madmen.” – J.G. Ballard

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream in the dark recesses of the night awake in the day to find all was vanity. But the dreamers of day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, and make it possible.”

Did you ever have fantasies about Disney movies as a kid? What about Star Wars? Worlds of knights, princesses and dragons? Cowboys and Indians? I think at some point growing up, we all have. My name being Luke instantly made me think I was in fact Luke Skywalker. We wanted to fight evil. Save the day. Be the hero. It was a matter of living significantly and acting boldly.

Then we start to grow up. You are told to quit being childish, and sure you can love those old stories, but you better not believe in them. Take whatever morals from them you need not to kill people and then put them up on a shelf to be forgotten. That is a serious problem.

I don’t believe that virtues and ideals are just philosophical banter. I believe they are real tangible ways of living, with real visible reactions. They usually aren’t easy to live by, and you can’t live by them alone. Life isn’t the same without them though. Just look at society to see what a lack of them leads to, and then look to your real life heroes and notice the reasons you are drawn to them. Virtues aren’t just fairy tales.

We are meant for more in this life. We are given a short amount of time to live, and it seems that this is meant to make us live with intention. Life isn’t meant to be lived quiet and slow and we aren’t built for it. Judging by life we are meant to live bright and fast (eternally at least). So why do we kill our souls? In our teenage years, we begin to try to bury ourselves in an early grave. We allow awful burdens to be heaped upon us bit by bit. All of our hopes and ambitions we begin with slowly fade away until we are just shuffling day to day using whatever will help distract us as time passes. Nobody wants to live like that, yet so often…too often, we choose just that!

It’s here you might be wanting to say, “Look I admire your enthusiasm Luke, but you clearly haven’t lived enough of life yet, just wait a bit and you’ll see and then that eagerness will dampen.” Truth is though, I’ve seen quite a bit of life. I silently dealt with unbelievable emotional trauma for 10 years of childhood. I’ve seen my share of disappointment. Make no mistake, I understand why people become jaded, I just see that it isn’t meant to be that way, nor does it have to be.

Life is nothing but tension. It’s that tension that allows all of our hopes and dreams to have meaning! Our choices are one of our shining attributes as humans, it is part of being the image of God. When we choose to stand up and act in opposition to the weight of tension upon us, we do something remarkable.

The fact of the matter is God doesn’t want you to be part of the status quo. He knew of the the great and big things you could do before you were even in existence. He has plans to give you a future and a hope. For a God who is infinite and who’s ways are higher than our ways, that means it’s safe to assume He has something huge for us all, something audacious and bold.

So my hope for you is this: that you come to understand God for who He is. That your view of how infinite He is will grow. Because once you see that, you’ll realize that in Him you can do anything. I hope that you will dare to do unthinkable things, even reckless things for His glory. I hope that you’ll pray for discernment and a spirit of selflessness, so as to avoid being misled and allowing dreams to be corrupted.

And don’t just dream. Do. Act. Be waking dreamers. Inspire others! Live life in liberation. You only get one opportunity at this life, do something with it. With Christ, no obstacle truly stands in front of you, no goal is out of reach, no hope is ever really lost. In Christ, the greatest Hero, we can be the hero we grew up thinking we would be.

Dream big. Live big.

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

Leader or Servant?

Leadership, something I’ve always revered. A leader, something I’ve always wanted to be. I asked and thanks to God, I received. He has blessed me with a some excellent leadership opportunities over the last few years. I want to dispense some of those things, I’ve learned in my short time in those shoes.
Jesus was and is, a leader. No doubt about it. He led His disciples, He conducts over all creation, etc. However, for most of the bible, beyond public speaking, you see very little “leading”. What do you see?
Instead you see a servant. He puts others over himself numerous times. Why is that? Well first look to Mark 10:45. Now there is your reason: he wasn’t here to lead. He was here to serve and to sacrifice. That may make you speculate, so was he a leader? Well, it’s clear all throughout the Word that Jesus is, most certainly, a leader.

Sacrifice

The answer lies in that to lead, you must serve and sacrifice. A leader isn’t a station of exaltation, all on it’s own. A leader removes “self” from the equation and instead takes on a role for all who he leads over. His “self” is still there but it’s after everyone else. A leader after doing that, takes on the worries, issues, and situations of the group and makes it his main priority. There lies the sacrifice. You sacrifice “self” and all the baggage that comes with that for the greater good. The honor that often comes with being a leader, is a result of that sacrifice. It’s an honor because it’s laborious. If it was straightforward everyone would be a leader. Leadership as we all know requires an abundance of responsibility and competency. That is because of that sacrifice, it’s not easy to keep and hence takes a whole lot to keep that commitment.

Matthew 20:16 “In the same way, the last will be first, and the first will be last, because many are called, but few are chosen.”

That’s the ticket right there. It fires the old concept of being a leader out the window. The leader will be last, and the servant will be first. This verse has a lot to be said about it. However this is the motif for this material. If you feel called by God to be a leader in some type of embodiment, then listen. It’s not undoubtedly going to be prestigious, it will come at a cost, and you are to be held at a much higher level of accountability. MANY are called. FEW are chosen.
That’s not to scare you, that’s being real with you. I’ve only seen it on a rather small scale and let me tell you, it gets real serious, real fast, without regard to what kind of leadership.

Know Your Faults and Limits

I want to also talk on another matter though. A few weeks ago my pastor, Ronnie Floyd, was discussing generosity. He said that you shouldn’t buy something if you are willing to give it away. If you can’t let go of it, then don’t buy it. It was a word on stewardship and the fact nothing is truly ours. All belongs to God and is given by Him to use for Him.
I want to turn that to leadership. Do not take a position of leadership freely. Discern and work through what it means to have that position before you undertake it. Don’t take a position in leadership, if you can’t let it go. If you can’t step down, then you shouldn’t be up there in the first place. Unlike material goods though, a position in leadership can shift direction and purpose over time. Realize this, and act accordingly. If things change and you feel those feelings invade that are making it harder and harder to let go or making you more and more possessive, let it go. Give it up. That’s often a signal to move on or at least take a break. I can’t speak with certainty but I wonder if that’s a reason why John Piper is taking an eight month leave of absence. If so then, good for him!
You can write novels on leadership and I have volumes of other things that I’d love to say, but this was what was on my heart. I feel that these two points are greatly missed by the leaders of today and tomorrow. This is for those leaders looking to take up the reins in the workforce and in the community, and it’s especially for those looking to be leaders in the Church. Think hard before making your choices. I’m praying for all of us.
Much Love,Luke

“If I cannot in honest happiness take the second place (or the twentieth); if I cannot take the first without making a fuss about my unworthiness, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” – Anonymous
“The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet – that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God.” –Oswald Chambers
“If you serve others for the reward of gaining their admiration and gratitude, then your reward will be fleeting and ultimately dissatisfying. If you serve others for the reward of bringing pleasure to your Father God’s heart as you work side by side with him, then you will gain eternal rewards.” – Anonymous